Enable pre-orders

Some features described on this page may not be available, as selling books on Google Play is limited to certain countries.

Pre-orders allow customers to order -- but not read -- your book before its release date. On the release date, customers who pre-ordered your book are charged for the purchase and they gain access to the book. Enabling pre-orders can help increase exposure and sales for a book.

Settings to enable pre-orders

Your book will be available for pre-order sales if you specify a future On Sale Date up to a year in advance, and you provide all other necessary settings and files. You can provide an On Sale Date either on the Settings tab for a book or by using a spreadsheet.

in the Partner Centeran example spreadsheet

This setting doesn't prevent your book from becoming available for preview on Google Books. A book which is enabled for sale, even with a future On Sale Date, will be previewable unless you also adjust your Google Search preview settings on the Settings tab and select the option labeled No Preview Before On Sale Date.

Due to variable processing times and other factors, Google cannot guarantee that a book will be available for pre-order sales during a specific time range. We recommend that you send us your book as soon as you are able. As it can take up to 48 hours to process a PDF or EPUB file, please plan accordingly.

Note: If your book's price changes after a customer pre-orders it, and the original pre-order price is different from the price at the time of the on-sale date, the customer will be charged the lower of the two prices when the eBook is delivered.

Status of pre-orders within your account and on Google Play

When your book is available for pre-order, its status will display as Live on Google Play in your Book Catalog and will display as Preorderable on Google Play in spreadsheets and on the Summary tab for the book. When you view the book on Google Play, you'll see a "Pre-order" button with the price. Note that potential buyers won't have the option to read a sample of the book until the on-sale date.

Pre-orders are tracked in your sales transaction reports, where you can see if a pre-order has been placed, fulfilled, or canceled. Because customers are not charged for pre-orders until the release date, these purchases will only appear in your sales summary reports and earnings reports once the books have been digitally delivered to the customers. We are currently working to offer more direct reports and insights into pre-orders within your account.